Montgomery Gentry

When Eddie was 6 years old he was on his 1st mini bike- crashed into a swing set. Then he moved up to 50 or 70 horsepower bike and got his first Harley in his teens. The bike he rides now is a ridge with Springer Front end. It’s a POW themed bike with World War 2 images in memory of his deceased veteran Uncle. His camouflaged seat is worth more than the bike because it was made out of John Wayne’s military green duffle bag . John Wayne’s handler sold it to him. He rides this most often but when he gets to rid a lady around, he takes his Ultra Glide. He says: “ I rekon its like a Cadilac with a nice comfortable ride” He redid the Hooker Headers and it has custom everything now. You can hear it coming a mile away.

Troy got his first motorcycle in high school. It was a Honda Enduro. He’s come a long way since then and now always has several bikes to choose from. He currently has two customs and a Harley. The two customs are the ones in the photo. The custom yellow Batman bike built by 357 and the Iron Horse with the custom paint job by Planet Color.

I asked Eddie where he met Troy Gentry. “Me and T met in a bar”. He says his Mom and Dad were musicians also and they would play in bars so Eddie grew up with bar tenders as his babysitters. He performed with his mom and Dad in their band Harold Montgomery and Kentucky River Express. In his teens, he joined his Dad’s band and replaced his Mom as drummer. He met Troy right out of high school at Troy’s Dad bar. People started asking them to play together and the band Duce was born.

Is riding a passion? Eddie says If he could he would be motorcycle riding every day. He trailers them everywhere. He loves it more than anything. He say’s: “There’s nothing like riding by a lady and smelling her perfume.” Can’t do that in a car. He loves the smell of nature and the freedom of riding.

Unfortunately it’s getting dangerous out there with the people not seeing riders. Troy recalls a time when riding was his passion but after the birth of his second child, he considers himself more of a family man. He thinks riding can be inspiring but mostly he rides to get away from everything and to clear his head.

Do they work on their own bikes? Eddie said he can wrench a little but he doesn’t have the time. When I asked him how and when he learned he said, “ I’m a damn hill billy from Kentucky. If we don’t learn how to fix our vehicles, we don’t go anywhere” Troy prefers to leave the wrenching to the professionals. He thinks bikes are too technical these days.

QT: I love the name of your album Rebels on the Run. Do you consider yourself a rebel? Eddie: The whole outlaw rebel thing, with us, what you see is what you get. If your music is a different style, people think you’re a rebel but it’s just the way I grew up. As you know, many bikers are Veterans and therefore very patriotic. We see that patriotism in your music as well.

I think we live in the greatest country in the world. Darlin, I grew up – My great gran daddy was a Rough Rider. ( Teddy Roosevelts’ famous posy) Most of my family was in military. My dad and mom played patriotic music all the time so I grew up around a lot of patriotism.

Troy Gentry: Do you consider yourself a rebel? “There was a time in my life that I would have considered myself a rebel or you might say, mischievous! But not as much these days. As I’ve gotten a little older, I know when to pick my parties.”

Have they played at biker events before? They’ve played quite a few. They use to play Sturgis – Buffalo Chip every other year. They actually hosted a bike ride with the ACMs for about 7 years in a row and they’ve probably played at least three this year so far. Troy thinks it is because of their patriotism and love of our military that they are such a great fit for those types of events. And this will be their first time at The Love Ride and they’re looking forward to it.

Before they became Montgomery Gentry, they played a ton of smaller biker events back when they were called Duce.

So how did they go from the name Duce to Montgomery Gentry? It just happened. They would get introduced as Montgomery Gentry and I guess the fans picked up on it and it was so. They changed their name.

Are any of your songs written about motorcycling and if so, what was the inspiration? Eddie says most songs are inspired by riding. When he’s out there, he feels inspired and that comes through in his music.

As a promotion on their new CD, they are giving away a bike. It’s like the golden ticket in Willey Wonka. If you open the CD with the golden ticket, you can win a new Montgomery Gentry Chopper by Demented Cycles. “This is going to be one of the coolest bikes anyone’s ever seen,” said Troy Gentry, who had input in the design of his own custom choppers. “Yeah, we both love to ride, and we can’t wait to see someone ride off on this bad boy,” added Eddie Montgomery.

Fans will have the ability to pre-order copies of Rebels On The Run, which are also eligible for the “Golden Ticket” promotion, on the band’s website www.MontgomeryGentry.com beginning September 26, 2011 and the new cd will be released on October 18th.